Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by Roguer:

A - A beautiful dark beer, clean, low amount of bubbles. Mine had a thick head (~3 fingers) which left little residue on the glass, but looked beautiful after pouring.

S - Very mild; nothing particularly strong.

T - Bright, hoppy (but nothing like an IPA, obviously). Slightly crisp, very clean. Complex, with a mild taste of pine, and notable caramel malt. Eminently drinkable; this makes a decent beer to just taste, but can easily be a volume drink.

O - My first experience with Boston Lager was years ago, before I'd become accustomed to hopped beers, and I didn't like it. Well, tastes change, and after downing my fair share of pale ales and trying a number of beers, I decided to give it another try. I was not disappointed. The hops are clearly present, but really just introduce you to the rest of the beer, instead of overpowering it. Behind that, the mild amount of malt and the rest of the flavors come through cleanly.

More User Reviews:

One of the best flagship beers ever and it is a staple of the "craft beer" world. Even-though many consider it to be too commercial to be a true "craft beer" it has all of the flavor and impact that any great beer should have.

A - Perfect light brown color basically a caramel that is crystal clear. Fluffy white head that sits nice and high. Great lacing.

S - Rich malty aroma with caramel and lager notes. Also grainy tones and some noble hops. Smells like any commercial amber lager but with more hop character.

T - Tastes of sweet maltiness with some grain, caramel, and lager flavor. This beer takes you average "beer" and kicks it up to the next level with layers of clean and delicious flavors. Only a light bitterness and some noble hop character to balance the sweet malt character.

M - Medium to light mouth-feel. Moderate to light carbonation. Very balanced in ever respect. Could drink this forever and would go perfectly with thousands of food combination.

Overall, this is a great (once craft, now commercial) beer that is perfect for drinking on Sundays, during the Summer, or just when a heavy stout or IPA just isn't what I'd like. Though big imperial IPAs and imperial stouts have my heart; I would still never turn down a good ol' Boston Lager.

From time to time I love to revisit classics like this one. I still recall my first Sam Adams. It was 1993 and I was all of 14 years old, thinking I was cool to snag such a refined beer for my house party (sorry Mom!). That first one ended up as a drain pour. I was so shocked and appalled at the (gasp) flavor that the beer imparted that it just confounded me. Mind you, this was over half a lifetime ago, and I was still under the impression that fire-brewed Strohs and MillerLite cans were the pinnacle of brewing. I'd like to believe that despite the drain pour, that beer planted the seed in my mind that has grown in to my obsession for craft beer. Well enough nostalgia. Here we go...

The beer pours a bright tangerine color with lively carbonation that sends bubbles streaming to the surface. This one could grace a beer commercial. Perfect, thick white head that falls gradually with lacing all the way to the rim. Impressive. Fruity esters and a buttery malt aroma in the nose. A little bit of citrus and spice from the hops. The flavor is malty, complex and delicious. I think we beer advocates forget just how good this beer truly is. There's just a touch of caramel sweetness, with cereal grain and a well-balanced bitterness in the finish. Hints of orange peel spice and some toffee on the tongue. The body is remarkably fuller than one might expect. I attribute this to a little sleight of hand with the aggressive carbonation. The prickly suds convey a creamy mouthfeel and feign fullness with masterful precision. Nice clean finish that begs for another gulp. At under 5% ABV, this is a powerhouse of flavor and texture. I cannot think of a single small lager that packs as much moxie as the flagship beer from Boston. Still world class in today's glut of aspiring craft kings.

Notes: Best before Jan 2015. (consumed 9/4/14). Poured into a nonic pint

A: [4.00] Extremely clear beer. No haze or cloudiness. The color is like light maple syrup. An amber/tan color. The head is 1 finger and is formed of dense bubbles. The is lacing when the beer is tilted. The bottle has a best by date and does not list the ABV or IBU.

S: [1.50] I get no nose. I shoved my nose right down in there and sucked it in. Nothing. Maybe as it warms. But the initial nose is none.

T: [2.25] Slight creamed corn flavor.

M: [2.75] Fairly high carbonation. There is a "zing" on the tongue. The mouthfeel is thin and watery.

O: [2.25] It seems hard to believe but I was disappointed - and I had pretty low expectations. I have had Sam Adams Boston Lager before - but never reviewed it critically. It has no appreciable nose. The taste is not something that I like and the body was unimpressive. Overall this is not a beer I would ever seek out. Even on a hot day I'd skip this in favor of water. I guess if this was the only "craft" beer at a place that server BMC then I'd go for it.

Pours a golden amber and smells sweet, floral and malty. Sweet malts up front, caramel notes and maybe some pine towards the end. Body and carbonation is medium. Not an outstanding beer but I can always count on it as a good option in an average bar.

On tap at the Town Pump in Detroit. Poured a light copper color with a pretty thick, creamy looking head that was very inviting. Nice up front hop aroma, fairly mild, along with malts and grains - nice parity among the different smells going on. The first taste hits you with a little bit of the hop bitterness followed by a nice sweet and malty body. Call me crazy, but I tasted just a BIT of faint apple flavors in there, along with maybe some other kind of fruit. By the end, some more floral flavors came out but the malty finish also got stronger. A very crisp beer, thanks to the carbonation with an overall thin body, very smooth going down.

Considering a company as large as Samuel Adams, it's still obvious that they put a lot of care into their brews. As far as the "larger" brew companies go, this is some of the best. Easy to drink and session with and it blows BMC beers out of the water, especially for the relatively low price.